Healing The Heart
by Rebecca Cage
Summary: Set after 6.13 Ducky recovers from his attack at the crime scene, however his friends notice a more disturbing pattern and step in and rally around him to also mend the invisible wounds left from the ordeal.


Healing the Heart

It had been a very long and stressful day. Days prior, a case that NCIS was working brought back an incident from years ago that came back with a vengeance and resulted in physical and emotional injury to one of their own. Gibbs was obviously still furious about the pain that his friend had had to endure, but at the same time he was proud of his team and the hard work they had put in to bring the truth to light and prevent the situation from becoming worse.

"Wrapping everything up here?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the office and looked at McGee working on his computer.

"Yeah, Boss. We're just about finished here. Tony's upstairs in MTAC giving the rest of the paperwork to the Director, Ziva's rechecking our weapons back into Armory on her way out and I'm just finishing up the last little bit of work that I need to do."

"Right. Good work, McGee. You all did good work today."

"Of course, we did, Boss. Don't we always?" DiNozzo said, coming down the stairs with his characteristic cocky grin.

"Yes, you do, DiNozzo." Gibbs said, gently smacking DiNozzo on the back of the head as he usually did when his senior field agent made a smart mouth remark.

"Well, on that note, I think I'll say good night. It's been a long couple of days and I'm looking forward to having an evening to myself to do something normal, like relaxing in front of the tv." McGee said, heading out of the office.

"Enjoy your Star Trek marathon, Probie." DiNozzo called after him as he left.

"Great idea. Thanks, Tony."

"Some things never change, do they DiNozzo?" Gibbs smirked, turning and heading toward the elevator.

"Hey, Boss?"

"Yeah?"

"How's Ducky holding up? He seemed really quiet on the ride back this afternoon and it's really been bothering me."

"That's what I was about to go find out." Gibbs said, noting the other man's weary demeanor. "Go home, Tony. Get some rest this weekend. You've definitely earned it. See you Monday."

"Right, Boss." DiNozzo said, smiling as he stepped into the elevator and the doors closed.

* * *

Once he had checked out for the day, Gibbs took the elevator down to the lowest level of the building and stopped just outside of Autopsy, pausing for a moment with his hand on the door. He didn't know why but he got a feeling that something wasn't quite right. As Gibbs walked into the Autopsy lab, he was met by Jimmy Palmer, Ducky's assistant, who met him practically at the door with a finger to his lips. Turning on his heel, Gibbs followed the younger man back out into the hallway.

"Talk to me, Palmer. What's going on? Where's Ducky?"

"See, that's why I came out in the hall to talk to you. When you got back from the Embassy, Dr. Mallard came down here and tried to get back to work. Granted he was only able to help me out so much working with only one hand, but I could tell that he was tired. He looked completely exhausted really. So, I suggested that we take a break and he sat down there and pretty much fell straight to sleep. I know he's been through hell these past few days, so I really couldn't bring myself to disturb him." Jimmy said, the rapid manner of his speech matching the deep concern that Gibbs saw in the young man's eyes.

"Yeah. He really shouldn't be here. He's dead on his feet." Gibbs began, realizing what he had said when Jimmy gave him a weird look and a bemused smirk. "No pun intended of course."

"I know. You are right though. But I'm at a loss because Dr. Mallard told me that he's not ready to go home quite yet. So, I don't know what to do for him. If you hadn't shown up when you did, I was honestly about to call you."

"Thanks, Palmer. I think I know what it is Ducky's going through. I'll take it from here."

"Agent Gibbs, is Dr. Mallard going to be okay?" Jimmy asked, finally having the strength to voice the question that had been on his mind all afternoon.

"Yeah. I think he'll be fine. He just needs some rest. I'll take care of him. Don't worry." Gibbs said as the two men walked back into Autopsy. Gibbs walked over to where Ducky was sleeping with his head on one of the empty tables, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Rise and shine, Duck."

"Hmm." Ducky mumbled sleepily at the voice, coming awake slowly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose I must have dozed off for a moment. What can we do for you, Jethro?"

"It's more like what I can do for you."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Doctor, you were sleeping there for over an hour." Jimmy said, concerned, coming over to stand beside him.

"Well why in the world wouldn't you have awakened me, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked, confused and at the moment a tiny bit annoyed.

"Because I know that you've had a hard time these past few days and I've frankly been concerned about you. After you nodded off so quickly when I suggested we take a break I just couldn't bring myself to disturb you."

"Fair enough."

"Palmer's right, you know, Duck. You're exhausted. You need to get some rest. I heard you don't feel up to heading home, which I understand. So, I have the perfect solution. I'm bringing you home with me for the weekend. That way you can decompress from what you've been through and get some rest while you heal. I'll give Jordan a call on the way, fill her in on what's going on and see if she'd mind bringing you what you need and house sitting for you for the weekend."

"I appreciate the offer, Jethro, but I was at the hospital this afternoon and the doctor there said my hand is healing nicely."

"Not talking about your hand." Gibbs said pointedly.

"Then what…..?" Ducky began.

"I'm talking about your heart. Now let's go, Duck. No arguing."

"Wait, Jethro. I can't just leave. We have things to finish. We have to organize things for the weekend and…."

"Don't worry about that, Dr. Mallard. I've done this enough times that I know everything that needs to be done. You need to take care of yourself. We need you. Go on and get some rest. I'll handle closing things up here." Jimmy said, cutting off Ducky's argument before he could finish it.

"I suppose you're both right. Thank you, Mr. Palmer." Ducky smiled, squeezing his young assistant's shoulder gratefully before he left the room with Gibbs.

* * *

"You hungry, Duck?" Gibbs asked as he drove through town. Concerned when he didn't get an answer he glanced over at his friend to find him staring blankly out the window. "Ducky?"

"Hmm? I'm sorry, Jethro. I'm very tired and I must have checked out mentally for a moment. What were you saying?" Ducky said distracted, blinking rapidly seemingly to anchor himself back into the moment.

"I asked if you're hungry. I was just thinking that we could order something when we get back to the house."

"Actually, I could go for some dinner. I haven't had much of an appetite since breakfast for obvious reasons."

"That's what I thought. Glad to know that you've got an appetite. Pizza sound good to you?" Gibbs asked, a little relieved when Ducky turned to look on him with a grin.

"Throw in some beer with that and you've got yourself a deal."

"I think I can manage that one."

* * *

When Gibbs pulled into his driveway he put his car in park and opened the door. After he stepped out onto the pavement, he noticed that Ducky wasn't behind him. He turned to look back into the car and smiled. His friend was still in the passenger seat with his chin resting on his chest. His eyes were closed, and the slow breathing told him that the doctor had dozed again on the ride. Leaning into the car, Gibbs gently shook the other man's shoulder.

"Hey. We're here, Duck."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Jethro. I suppose I'm more fatigued than I had originally suspected." Ducky said sleepily, getting out of the car finally and moving to stand beside Gibbs.

"Figured that much when I found you asleep in Autopsy. That's not like you. Look, Duck. It's early yet and you look like you could use some rest so why don't we relax for a bit before we order something for dinner."

"That does sound nice. My hand has been bothering me a bit this afternoon as well. I believe it would serve me well to take something for it. It's a good thing I remembered to have you ask Jordan to place my medication in my bag when she drops it off, bless her."

"Yeah. What do you say we go inside and get you settled in?" Gibbs said, placing an arm around Ducky's shoulders when he nodded and showing him inside.

"I do appreciate you inviting me to be your guest for the weekend, Jethro. Given all of the time we spend at the Navy Yard, we don't get much time to just sit down and catch up anymore." Ducky said, sinking gratefully onto the sofa as Gibbs sat in the chair opposite.

"No problem, Duck. Hell, I'm looking forward to having the company. You want something to drink? I've got water, milk, soda. I don't think you need any alcohol on an empty stomach so beer's out of the question at the moment."

"I think I will get myself a glass of ice water."

"Nope. Just relax, Ducky. You're my guest, I'll grab it for you."

"Oh. Well, thank you, Jethro."

"What are friends for?" Gibbs smiled, disappearing into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Gibbs returned to the living room and handed Ducky the glass of water, watching as he sipped at it slowly. There was definitely something on Ducky's mind and it was clearly tearing him apart inside. Gibbs had hoped that being cleared of the arbitrary charges against him would make his friend more at ease, but it seemed to him that, if anything, Ducky appeared to be more upset than he had that morning. The man was obviously hurting, and Gibbs was determined that he was going to help him start to heal.

"Hey. You okay?"

"I'm okay, Jethro. Just a bit tired. Why do you ask?"

"Just concerned about you, Duck. You're my friend and you've been hurt, in more ways than one. I want to try to help, that's all." Gibbs said, leaning forward to place a hand on Ducky's knee. He was completely exhausted, but it was obvious that he was doing everything in his power to fight the rest that he clearly needed.

"Can I confide in you, Jethro? Off the record?"

"Of course. Nothing you tell me will leave this room. I give you my word on it."

"I've been having nightmares, Jethro. Terrible nightmares. Ever since I was attacked at the crime scene three days ago. It seems that I can't close my eyes without going back to my army medical days. That's why I've been so tired and nodded off on the job. I haven't slept properly in at least two days." Ducky admitted, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

"This may sound like a stupid question but why don't you take something to help? You know, something to knock you out so you can get some sleep."

"Honestly, because I'm afraid it won't help."

"You afraid of getting trapped in the nightmare?" Gibbs asked, his frustration with the situation growing when Ducky nodded wearily at him. "Ah, damn it, Duck. I wish there were some way that I could turn back time and undo everything you saw. I know how it is to be haunted by the past. I know where you're coming from because I've been there."

"I know you have. That's the reason that I felt comfortable talking to you about this. You know how it is. Sometimes it's just easier to talk about certain things with someone who can relate."

"Yeah. I know. So, what do you say we take care of our stomachs. I don't know about you but I'm hungry."

"I don't object to that. I believe you mentioned something about pizza earlier." Ducky said hopefully, feeling a little more alert for the time being.

"Already a step ahead of you there, Duck." Gibbs grinned, holding up his cell phone.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the front doorbell rang, causing both men to look up. Wondering who could be at the door, since it was too early for their dinner to have arrived, Gibbs got up and crossed the room to the front door. When he opened the door, he was very surprised to see Abby standing there.

"What's up, Abbs?" Gibbs asked, opening the door for Abby to come inside.

"Well, when I finished logging the evidence in both of the cases we worked, I decided to go downstairs and see how Ducky was doing. I was worried when I didn't find him but then Jimmy walked in and told me that Ducky had left with you and that you were waiting for Jordan to bring his bag over. So, I called her and asked if she would let me bring it because I was planning on coming over here anyway as soon as I realized that Ducky was here, so I went to his house and got his things and now here I am." Abby explained, her rapid fire explanation causing him to glance over his shoulder at his friend, who was smiling at them.

"Ok. Breathe, Abby. Thanks for bringing Ducky's bag over. Hey, listen, we just ordered some pizza and I kind of ordered more than Ducky and I can eat. Why don't you join us?"

"Ok sure. I really like that idea." Abby smiled, walking over and sitting down on the couch beside Ducky. "How are you, Ducky?"

"Honestly, Abby, I've been better. But of course, that's to be expected. I have no doubt that I'll get there, however. With friends like you I know I will be as good as new in no time. I appreciate that you came to check on me." Ducky smiled, reaching over to take Abby's hand in his good one.

"Of course. I'm just glad that you're getting better."

Just then, the doorbell rang again and this time it was the chime that they were expecting.

"I'll bet _that_ would be the pizza."

After he had paid for the pizza and gotten plates out of the kitchen, Gibbs returned to the living room and retook his chair across from his friends. It was in that moment that he realized that in his haste he had forgotten something. He turned and looked at his most recent houseguest.

"I'm sorry, Abby. Can I offer you something to drink? You want a soda?" Gibbs asked, handing a slice of pizza to each of his friends.

"Yeah, soda sounds great. Thanks, Gibbs." Abby smiled, digging into her pizza.

As he sat in Gibbs's living room having dinner and drawing strength from the unconditional support of his friends, Ducky was beginning to feel a little better. As the evening drew on, however, he noticed that not only was the pain in his injured hand returning, but his exhaustion was as well. At this point, Ducky began to get into an internal debate with himself. Part of him knew that he should take something for his pain and to help him to rest because he was bordering on complete exhaustion, but at the same time the other part of him was telling him to continue to fight it with all of his strength in order to avoid the horribly vivid nightmares that he had been having for the past two nights. He didn't even realize that he had tuned out everything else around him until he felt a hand rest on his knee, snapping him back to reality.

"Ducky? What's wrong?" Abby asked, concerned.

"I was just thinking, Abby. Rather I was trying to decide on something."

"Internal debate?"

"Yes. I sometimes tend to forget that is something that happens to you frequently." Ducky smiled, covering Abby's hand with his own.

"Hey, Duck, would you have a problem with me letting Abby in on the discussion we had earlier? I think she might be able to help. It's up to you." Gibbs suggested as Ducky nodded to him. At this point he was willing to take help wherever he could get it. "See, Abbs, Ducky's been having nightmares since everything went down. He was telling me earlier that he can't sleep without going back to it."

"Oh, Ducky. I know where you're coming from. I personally think that part of your issue is that you're alone when you're at home. Maybe since you're staying here with Gibbs this weekend it might help." Abby said, giving Ducky a sideways hug.

"You know, I think you may be right, Abby. Earlier this afternoon I actually took a bit of a nap in Autopsy when Jimmy and I took a break. When I woke up he told me that I had slept for about an hour, which is more than I've been able to manage at once in two days. I think part of the reason that I managed that is because I knew that Jimmy was there."

"I just had a thought. Ducky feels more secure with people around right now, and I have another spare room. What do you say? Feel up to a bit of a slumber party tonight, Abbs?" Gibbs asked.

"I thought you'd never ask." Abby smiled, her smile fading when she noticed Ducky's pinched expression. "Is your hand bothering you?"

"Honestly, yes. It's been aching a bit ever since this afternoon but now it seems to be getting worse. I've been debating taking some of my medication for it because of the side effects but I think perhaps I'd better." Ducky admitted, feeling safe in the company of his friends.

"Let me get it. Here you go."

"Thank you, Abby. Jethro, you don't by chance happen to have any coffee, do you?"

"Yeah, I think I can scare some up for you. Hold on a minute." Gibbs agreed, disappearing into the kitchen and returning a few minutes later with a mug of coffee in his hand, handing it to his houseguest. "There you go, Duck."

After taking the pill Abby handed him, Ducky sat with her and Gibbs, occasionally breaking into a story about some subject or another, but mostly staying silent and drawing strength from the presence of people that he trusted and knew would be there for him. The pain in his hand was way less than it had been and although he was drinking coffee, Ducky could feel that the medication was beginning to relax him, and his eyes were starting to close. Out of habit, he reached up and rubbed his eyes to keep himself awake.

"Don't try to fight it. You're not doing yourself any favors." Gibbs said matter of factly, his trademark stare piercing even from across the room.

"Gibbs is right. We know how tired you are," Abby agreed, grabbing the pillow that she had been leaning against and resting it on her legs. "Why don't you rest here, Ducky. That way you'll know that you aren't alone. We're both here."

Nodding tiredly, Ducky allowed Abby to settle him onto the pillow in her lap. Once he was comfortable, Abby wrapped an arm around him to assure him of her presence. At this point, Ducky took Abby's hand in his own and brought it to his chest, holding her hand like a child would hold a stuffed animal. Feeling comfortable and more importantly safe in his surroundings, he closed his eyes and let himself rest, falling asleep rather easily. As soon as it was clear that Ducky was sleeping, Gibbs stood and crossed the room to them, kneeling in front of the couch and carefully removing his friend's glasses, placing them on the coffee table. Then, getting to his feet, he retook his seat and looked at Abby warmly.

"Good work, Abbs. Now, what do you say we find a movie or something on to watch for a bit?"

"Oh yeah. I like that idea. The gorier the better." Abby smiled.

Two hours later, at the end of what had to be one of the strangest movies he had ever seen in his life, Gibbs turned his attention from the television and took in the scene before him with a soft smile. Abby had fallen asleep at some point during the movie they had been watching and had her head resting on the back of the couch, her pigtails hanging over the back and she still had her arm around Ducky who seemed to be resting peacefully in her lap and was still clinging to her hand. Standing up and stretching, Gibbs turned off the lights except for one small lamp in the corner of the room and headed for his own bed, leaving his guests in peace.

* * *

Some time later, Abby was jolted back to awareness by Ducky tossing harshly against her leg, which had also succeeded in nearly ripping her arm out of joint because he was still holding onto her hand. Momentarily confused, Abby sat up and began trying to calm her friend.

"It's okay, Ducky. It's me, Abby. You're safe."

Just then Ducky bolted up and was struggling to catch his breath, gasping for air and his eyes were the desperately frightened eyes of a dying man.

"Gibbs! Gibbs, I need help!"

Gibbs shot out of bed, instantly alert, when he heard Abby call out to him. He had worked with Abby a long time and had heard her in many stages of excitement, but there was something in her voice now that made his hair stand on end. He flung himself around the corner into the living room and his blood turned cold. Abby was scared to death as she tried to help Ducky who for some reason appeared to be fighting to breathe.

"What the hell happened here, Abby?" Gibbs asked, concerned.

"I don't know. I woke up when Ducky started thrashing around and nearly ripped my arm off, so I tried to calm him down and then he sat up and couldn't breathe. I don't know what's going on but I'm scared Gibbs."

Ignoring Abby for the moment, Gibbs walked over to the couch and sat down on Ducky's other side, reaching over and placing a hand on the back of his friend's neck in an attempt to ground him to reality. Gibbs could understand why Abby was scared, he had to admit that he was unnerved himself because he had never seen Ducky like this but rather was used to seeing his friend as the confident and caring man who had become his trusted confidant years ago.

"Hey. Talk to me, Ducky. You're okay. You were dreaming. Whatever freaked you out isn't real." Gibbs said quietly as Ducky turned glassy eyes to him, still breathing rapidly. "Ok. You with me? Just take some deep breaths. You're hyperventilating. Take it nice and slow."

"Are you okay, Ducky?" Abby asked, resting her hand on Ducky's knee.

"What happened?" Ducky asked finally, dazed and more than a little confused.

"You had a nightmare, Duck. Scared the hell out of us."

"I remember now. It was horrible. But I think I'm okay now."

"Okay? Ducky, you couldn't breathe. I thought you were dying." Abby said, blinking the frightened tears from her eyes.

"That's because I was dying." Ducky began to explain, noticing Gibbs and Abby looking at him in shock. "Well not in reality obviously. In my nightmare I was dying. Being killed actually."

"What are you talking about, Duck?" Gibbs asked, his eyes a blaze of raw anger.

"I was being executed for my army incident in my dream, Jethro. The strange part being that I was totally at peace with it. That is until I saw all of your faces as you were forced to witness the deed. I suppose that since I had stopped breathing at the point in the nightmare when Abby awakened me, my mind hadn't had time to process that I wasn't actually dying. I apologize for having frightened you." Ducky explained as Abby threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"There's no way that we would ever let that happen to you, Ducky." Abby whispered.

"Abby's right, Duck. Anyone wants to kill you or anyone else that I care about for that matter is going to have to go through me and I pack a very mean punch and I'm not a bad shot. If I was having to watch someone execute one of my dearest friends, the glass would be blown into a million pieces and heads would roll before anyone had the chance to make a move in my direction, and I know McGee, DiNozzo, Ziva, Abby, Palmer they'd all be right behind me. You're family, Ducky. Nothing in the world more important than that."

"I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that, although it's something that I know already."

"You okay now? If you want I can help you settle into the guest room I set up for you earlier." Gibbs asked, changing the subject carefully.

"I think I would be more comfortable than in the living room. I need to find a way to relax after that nightmare. That was the worst one yet."

"I know you scared me. You were holding my hand and when you were moving around like that you nearly pulled my arm off but when I saw you struggling to breathe like that, I didn't know what to do. How'd you know what to do, Gibbs?" Abby asked, still a little shaken up herself.

"Seen more of this kind of thing than I care to think about, Abbs. I'm just glad we were here."

"I know. So am I. I don't even want to think about what might have happened if Ducky had been at home by himself when that happened."

"I am grateful that you both were here. For now, I would like to see if I can manage to settle myself after that." Ducky said quietly, reaching over to grab his glasses from the table.

"Okay. That's a good idea. I've already got the bedroom set up for you." Gibbs agreed, leading him down the hall to the guest room, followed closely by Abby.

"Do you want some company for a little while, Ducky? Because I don't mind sitting with you until you settle if it would help you feel more comfortable." Abby offered, feeling reassured when Ducky nodded and gave her a small smile.

"Thank you, Abby. I would appreciate some company and it is quite reassuring that you also understand what I'm going through."

"I actually need to double check to make sure that I got everything locked up earlier. Then I'll come in and talk to you guys too."

"Okay, Gibbs." Abby smiled, turning her attention to Ducky who was watching Gibbs heading down the hallway again. "I have an idea. Why don't you tell me something about you that I don't know? Just something interesting. It'll keep your mind off other things.

"That sounds like a nice idea. Did you know that I was quite the hell raiser in my younger days?"

"You?"

"Oh, yes." Ducky laughed. "I was a nightmare to my poor mother. I was always getting into trouble and playing pranks. I know it's hard to believe because I've been told that I've mellowed in my older age, but I was quite a force to be reckoned with."

"That is hard to believe. I just can't see you as a trouble maker, Ducky."

"You're not the first person to tell me that. I told that to Jimmy once and he looked at me like I had completely lost my mind. Actually, he reminds me a lot of myself when I was at that point in my life." Ducky said, smiling at the thought as he rested his back against the pillows on the bed. He was feeling a lot better and relaxed. Abby could tell that her friend was fading and decided to take over the conversation.

"Well, I was a prankster as a kid. I remember once when I went somewhere with a few of my friends, we were staying in a hotel, and two of us decided to play a mean joke and make our one friend think she was going insane. What we did was had a pair of two-way radios to keep track of each other and we took one of them and hid it under the bed, and then we went down into the lobby of the hotel that we were staying at, put our radio on voice activation and started playing sound effects. Would have worked better if we hadn't started laughing halfway through and given ourselves away." Abby laughed, smiling when she looked up. Ducky had fallen asleep again and had a smile on his face. It warmed her heart to know that her friend felt so comfortable with her. She stood up from where she had been sitting on the edge of the bed and pulled one side of the comforter up to cover Ducky and took his glasses from where he had laid them on the bed beside him and placed them on the side table for safe keeping. Then deciding that she didn't want to go far in case Ducky had another nightmare, she stretched out on the floor at the end of the bed and fell asleep.

About ten minutes later, after he had finished locking up the house and cleaning up a few things that he remembered he had left out in the basement, Gibbs walked into the guest room and shook his head. Getting a spare blanket from the closet and another pillow from the bed in the other room, Gibbs walked quietly over to where Abby was sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed, placing the pillow carefully under her head and laying the blanket over her. Before heading to bed, he checked on Ducky and then turned the light off.

* * *

The next morning, Gibbs was up early. He had an idea to help Ducky that was going to take a little bit of preparation. As he headed to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, he stopped into the guest room to check on his friends. Abby had managed to cocoon herself in the blanket but seemed comfortable enough for having slept on the hard floor all night and Ducky had managed to bury his head half under the pillow. He was happy to see that after he had settled from his nightmare he appeared to have slept peacefully. Leaving the room quietly, Gibbs went out into the kitchen to put his plan into action.

As he sat in at his kitchen table with a cup of coffee on the table in front of him, Gibbs pulled out his cell phone and began making the few phone calls that he needed to make in order to set his plan into motion. He had initially thought of this idea the previous night and after having seen how much Ducky seemed to be at peace with his friends around him, he knew that this was a step in the right direction toward helping their friend to heal emotionally from his ordeal. Flipping open his cell phone, he called the first person on his list.

"Hello?" Ziva's accented voice came through the phone, sounding surprisingly alert and perky given the early hour.

"You always get up so early on your day off?" Gibbs asked, teasing her.

"Not always. Just when I get calls from a friend overseas. Is there a problem?"

"No. No problem. I just had an idea on a way that we can help Ducky get through what's happened over the past few days and I need some help. I want to get everyone together for breakfast at the diner this morning. Do you have anything going on in a couple of hours?"

"I do not have any concrete plans for this morning. I was planning on watching television and catching up on some emails. Having breakfast with my team and helping a friend sounds like a much more productive way to spend the morning." Ziva smiled.

"Great. See you in a couple hours." Gibbs said as he hung up and dialed the next number.

After about five rings, Gibbs was about to hang up and move to the next person on his list and come back around when he heard the line connect and a groggy voice in his ear.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Hey, Tony. Did you have anything planned for this morning, like in a couple of hours?"

"You mean besides sleeping?" DiNozzo said, then caught himself in mid rant. "Sorry, Boss."

"It's okay. Sorry I woke you on your day off. Just wanted to know if you'd be interested in having breakfast with the team at the diner in a couple of hours? It's an idea I have to help Ducky out. Ziva's already in. How about you?"

"Will there be coffee?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Gibbs laughed.

"Okay. Sure. Count me in too. Sounds like fun."

"Great. See you then."

As soon as he hung up from his most recent call, Gibbs looked up to see Abby standing in the kitchen doorway, looking at him with a bit of confusing. He opened his phone again, gave Abby a smile as he signaled for her to sit down with him, and made his next call.

"Hey, Boss. Something wrong?" McGee answered quickly.

"Hey, McGee. No there's nothing wrong. Just trying to pull something together. You have any plans for this morning?"

"Not really. All I was going to do is get some time in on some of my online games, but I can do that any time. Why? What's up?"

"Well after everything that's gone on recently, I thought it would be a good idea to get the team together and have breakfast at the diner this morning. It'll be good to just do something as a team that doesn't involve shooting at bad guys and I know it'll really help Ducky. Tony and Ziva are definitely coming. How about you? Can I count you in?" Gibbs asked.

"Absolutely. I think that's a great idea, Boss. You want me to call Abby?"

"Thanks, but that's not necessary. Abby's right here. Long story."

"Ooookay. I'll just leave that one alone. What time is everyone meeting up?" McGee asked, more than a little confused.

"In a couple of hours. We'll see you there."

"What was that about, Gibbs?" Abby asked curiously as Gibbs hung up the phone.

"An idea that I had. I actually had this idea last night, but I wasn't sure about it. Then after I saw how much it seemed to help Ducky just to have people around him that he cares about, it occurred to me that the best way to help him to heal from the emotional trauma of this thing is simply to rally together and let him know how much we love him."

"I love that idea, Gibbs. So, we're getting everyone together for breakfast?"

"Yep. I already called Tony and Ziva earlier and they're on board, and I just got off the phone with McGee. Since you're here already all I need to do now is call and get Palmer on board and then everything will be all set. How's Ducky?"

"When I got up he was still sound asleep. I didn't want to bother him, so I came out here. He needs to rest. I didn't know you were up."

"Yeah, Duck does need the rest. The man's exhausted and understandably so. He told me last night that he was afraid of getting trapped in his nightmares and that's why he wasn't sleeping. Hopefully he'll feel more like himself when he wakes up. Now if you'll excuse me for just one second, Abbs, I have one more phone call to make."

When Gibbs called Palmer's number, he wasn't even sure that someone had answered. When the line connected he heard background noise and what he thought was muted mumbling.

"Hmmnshmns."

"Palmer? You there?" Gibbs asked.

"Agent Gibbs? What's wrong? Is everything okay?" Jimmy asked, suddenly alert.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Just wanted to see if you wanted to come and have breakfast at the diner with us in a couple of hours. Just wanted to get everyone together. I think it'll help Ducky too."

"Oh, yeah. Count me in for sure. Anything that will help Dr. Mallard."

"Great. Everyone else is in too. See you soon."

"Is everything in place?" Abby asked.

"Yep. Sure is."

"Great! We don't get to do this kind of thing nearly enough."

"Why do I feel like I've interrupted something?" Ducky asked in a sleepy voice, leaning in the kitchen doorway watching the conversation with amusement.

"Morning, Duck. How're you feeling?" Gibbs asked, pulling out the chair next to him so Ducky could sit.

"Much better once I was able to get some rest. I can't thank you and Abby enough for your support, Jethro." Ducky smiled, gratefully accepting the mug of coffee that Gibbs handed to him.

"We will always be here to support you, Ducky. Like Gibbs said last night, you're family." Abby smiled.

"I actually have a plan this morning. We're going to get ready and head over to the diner for breakfast. Just thought it would be a good way to start the day out. What do you think?"

"That sounds wonderful. I can't think of much that I would like better."

"Great. So why don't we all get ready to head out and then we can go out and have breakfast." Gibbs grinned with a glint in his eye as he and Abby put the coffee cups in the sink and he turned off the coffee maker.

* * *

When the three of them reached the diner, Gibbs could tell by the cars in the parking lot that the others were inside waiting for them. As they walked in the door, Gibbs saw McGee raise his hand in the air so that they could find them. Making their way over to greet their friends, it was obvious that Ducky was trying to work out exactly what was going on.

"We certainly didn't expect to see the rest of you here this morning." Ducky said, sitting down at the large table between Jimmy and Ziva.

"Well, you didn't. But Abby and I did." Gibbs admitted. "I called everyone this morning and asked them to meet us here, so we could all just be together. Just wanted to show you how important you are to all of us. Everyone came out here this morning, so we can let you know how much we care about you."

"I'm not sure what to say. Thank you doesn't seem to be enough. After the past few days, it means more than I can express to have my extended family all together here."

"We all love you, Dr. Mallard. We've been worried about you. I'm glad that you seem to be feeling better." Jimmy said, resting a hand on Ducky's shoulder.

"Jimmy's right. We love you." Abby smiled.

"How're you feeling, Ducky?" McGee asked.

"I'm much better this morning, Timothy, thank you. I feel more like myself than I have in days."

"Good to hear. Before I left yesterday I asked Gibbs how you were doing." DiNozzo said happily as McGee nodded his agreement.

"I am glad that you feel better, Ducky. NCIS needs you. You are our…." Ziva paused, making sure that she came up with just the right word. "Our soul. It would not be the same without you."

"It couldn't have been said better than that."

"I'd like to propose a toast if I may. If you don't mind my quoting you, Jethro." Ducky began, as Gibbs raised a hand in his direction to indicate he didn't mind. "To family. There is nothing more important."


End file.
